Page 59 of Fractured Frets

“Were you born in Italy?”

“No.” I placed my cell phone on the coffee table. I’ll deal with Julian later. “Mom and Dad met at college in Florence, and they moved to LA for work after they got married. My brothers and I were born and bred in California.” I sank back into the sofa and memories of summer vacation in Italy flooded my mind. Great food. Playing hide-and-seek in the vineyard. Swimming in the creek. Good times. “The trips to see the family are usually a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I won’t make this get-together.”

Missing Mom’s birthday would drive the wedge between me and my family deeper into my chest and give them another reason to be disappointed in me. For them, family came first. They never understood that I often had to put my work and other priorities before them. This time the priority was Maddy, and I’d never regret that. “Timing sucks. It’s at the beginning of our next break when I’m coming home to see you.”

“Oh.” Maddy nodded slowly and hugged her wineglass against her chest. “Next month, I’ve got a publicity tour for the new season of my show. We’re only going to get two days together during that visit and most of the time will be spent attending functions. Are you sure you want to miss your mom’s birthday?”

I swiped my hand back and forth across my scruffy chin. Thanks to time-zone differences and travel durations, I couldn’t see Maddy and go to the party. Could I?Nope. Not possible. Dates don’t align.

“Yes. It’s only a birthday. I’m not going two months without seeing you.” My tone may have been carefree, but my insides ached. Yeah...I’d miss catching up with my cousins. My immediate family? Not so much.

“But a sixtieth is a big deal.” Maddy rested her head against my shoulder. “The guys would probably go with you, right? Sutton is joining you on the tour too, since she has time off before filming her next season. Ava and Tia will be there. You should go to your mom’s party.”

I didn’t see my real family very often. If it wasn’t thanks to my work, it would’ve been by choice. Mom and Dad still lived in Pasadena, in the house I’d grown up in. My three older brothers and their families lived in The Valley. I used to be close and get along with everyone. Sunday lunches turned into late dinners. Stories, laughter, and games went for hours. But once I moved out of home and my band took off, everything changed. I was never around. My brothers resented my success, growing jealous of my income and lifestyle. Mom and Dad were hit and miss. They’d always encouraged my love of music, but wanted me to become a teacher, not join a band. They were beyond grateful I’d paid off their house and bought everyone nice cars. But despite every success the guys and I had achieved, and everything I’d done for them, I hadn’t become the stable, wholesome family man they’d expected me to be. Shame and embarrassment hung in their voices when my band hit the news for the wrong reasons. They’d never stopped hounding me to settle down. Stop partying. Get married. Have children.

Well . . . they couldn’t harass me about getting married anymore.

I loved my family, but I didn’t fit in. So I kept my distance.

My band had become my family. The guys never judged or ridiculed and were never jealous of me. We were equals. We’d supported each other through every high and low. Our friendship was thicker than blood.

I felt the same way about Maddy.

But being with her had made me reevaluate what was important to me. Made me determined to find the balance between life with her and music. That seemed impossible at present. We’d find a way after I finished the tour.

Damn it!

“I can’t do everything, Mads. Mom will be disappointed, but that won’t be anything new.”

She curled her legs up and rested them against my thighs. “But your family means a lot to you, don’t they?”

Despite our differences, I loved them. “Yeah. But my schedule doesn’t allow for it.” I was set to fly home after our show in Milan for a week, spend a couple of days with Maddy, then return to play in Austria. I’d miss the family get-together. “I’d much rather see you.”

“Me too.” She took a sip of her wine, then stared into her red. Distance clouded her eyes as she tapped her fingernail against the glass. “I know it’s a huge effort coming home to see me each break. I appreciate and love you for it—I really do. It’s a mammoth effort to coordinate our catchups. But...what if...I make no promises or guarantees here...but what if I can get some time off? If I can miss a few interviews that week, and the rest of the cast can do them without me, I’ll come to Italy. We can go to your mom’s party together.”

“Holy shit.” My heart filled my chest. “You’d do that?”

“Yes.” Her smile was pure heaven as anxious excitement swirled in her eyes. “I’ve never asked for unscheduled time off. I’m not sure if my producer, publicist, and the studio will be happy about it. Timing isn’t good around contract renewals. But this party is important to you. And you’re important to me...so yeah, I will.”

“That’d be incredible. But I know you’re worried about your show’s renewal and about being resigned. I don’t want you to risk your job.” Mom’s party wasn’t worth losing her role over. “Do you think the series or you will be axed?”

“I honestly don’t know. The studio has been tight-lipped about everything. Everyone is nervous. Our ratings are strong. I’m one of the lead stars, but the producers haven’t liked my private life being dragged across the media. I am worried. I love my role on Vancouver Heights and don’t want to be culled.” She covered my hand with hers and held it against her leg. “But I love you too. Some time together might convince my bosses that we’re good for each other. So I’ll see what I can do about taking some time off.”

Wow. We were so alike—always trying to please everyone around us. Be everywhere. Do everything. But while we worked on our marriage, we had to do what was right for us. Her wanting to come to Italy reassured me she was truly in this. Wanted us to work.

“It’d be cool if we could go to the party.” I took her wine and placed our glasses down on the coffee table. I swiveled to face her and draped my arm across her waist. I swooped in and gave her a lingering kiss on the lips. Mmm. So perfect. “You’ll meet my whole family in one hit.”

Maddy had met two of my three brothers, Theo and Julian, and my mom at the launch of my band’s new album. We hadn’t officially been together then, so the introduction had been low-key. This way, coming to Italy, she could meet everyone—cousins, aunts and uncles included. Shit...was that a good thing? Yeah. Maddy could handle herself in a crowd. They’d love her.

Maddy’s eyes glinted as she scrunched her nose. “I can’t believe I haven’t met all your family yet.”

I ran my hand down her bare thigh and threw her a sexy smile. “If we’d stopped sneaking around sooner and weren’t so busy, you would’ve.” But I hadn’t met her brother or her dad either. Considering she didn’t really talk to them, I couldn’t see that meet and greet happening anytime soon.

Maddy tucked my hair behind my ear and swiped her fingers over my stubble. “Is your mom still pissed we got married without the whole family?”

“Yep.” I shuffled on the sofa, rolling a fraction more toward her to ease the ache in my hip. “But that’s exactly why I wanted to marry you in Vegas. I’m all for big parties, but my parents would’ve wanted an extravagant event held in some enormous church, followed by a reception with hundreds of family and friends. Mom would’ve complained about every little detail from the meals on offer to a flower being out of place. There’d have been so much food and wine, and long speeches and stories. The celebrations would’ve run from the rehearsal dinner through to the wedding, to the following evening. It’d never have fucking ended. It’d have been their day, not ours.”

“I didn’t want a wedding like that.” Maddy’s tone dived as she fidgeted with my hand resting on her leg, swiveling my wedding band back and forth round my finger. “The paparazzi would’ve followed our every move. It was bad enough being swamped outside the chapel in Vegas.”

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